Two-year-old ‘drank Frappuccino tainted with blood’

A California family is suing Starbucks after they say their two-year-old daughter drank a frappuccino tainted with a barista’s blood. 

The Vice family stopped for drinks at the Starbucks at 601 W 2nd Street in San Bernardino on February 6, 2016. 

The drinks had a ‘strong metallic smell’ but they didn’t think anything about it until they got home, and noticed blood stains in and outside the cups. 

Most concerning for Amanda Vice was the fact that her toddler daughter Payton had been drinking the remnants of her frappuccino. 

 

Two-year-old Payton Vice drank a Starbucks drink tainted with blood in 2016

Her parents are suing the company for exposing them to the risk of blood-borne disease. Above, a view of a blood stain on the frappuccino cup Payton drank from 

Her parents are suing the company for exposing them to the risk of blood-borne disease. Above, a view of a blood stain on the frappuccino cup Payton drank from 

‘She was licking the whipped cream where it had been sitting on top,’ Mrs Vice told CBS LA. 

‘It was inside of the rim of my frappuccino,’ she added.  

‘My wife and my baby just drank someone’s blood,’ her husband Louis told KTLA. ‘It was bad.’

The family also noticed blood stains on some of their other drinks from the San Bernardino location 

The family called the Starbucks to report the incident and an employee told them that one of the baristas had been bleeding earlier and was taken off the floor. 

The manager at first offered the family free drinks for a week, and said that the barista would get tested to make sure he or she didn’t have HIV or any other kind of blood borne disease. 

But the family later learned that the employee was never forced to get tested, so they had to test themselves.  

‘We felt sick to our stomachs, we shouldn’t have to worry about going to get something to drink and there being blood in our drink where we could get sick,’ Mrs Vice said. ‘It’s very stressful.’

The first test came back negative, but they had to do another one six months later to make sure they were clean. 

‘This caused the family stress, nervousness, fright, anguish, grief, anxiety, worry and shock for several months while awaiting the second round of test results,’ their lawyers said. 

Payton pictured above with her dad Louis, left, and mom Amanda, right 

Payton pictured above with her dad Louis, left, and mom Amanda, right 

The Vice family stopped for drinks at thsi Starbucks at 601 W 2nd Street in San Bernardino on February 6, 2016

The Vice family stopped for drinks at thsi Starbucks at 601 W 2nd Street in San Bernardino on February 6, 2016

The second tests came back negative as well. 

Starbucks later upped their offer to $1,000 for each family member who drank a tainted drink, but the Vices say that won’t cut it. 

‘I thought it was sort of belittling,’ Mrs Vice says now of the offer. 

The family is now suing for unspecified damages.  

When contacted by local news outlets about the case, Starbucks refused to answer any specific questions but released this statement: 

‘We are aware of this claim that allegedly took place in 2016, and are prepared to present our case in court.’ 



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